A faulty gearbox prompted an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter’s emergency landing on Kume Island earlier this week, an Air Force spokeswoman said Thursday.

The search-and-rescue helicopter experienced the gearbox malfunction Tuesday about 12 miles north of the island, the spokeswoman said.

A backup system came on-line, allowing the crew of four airmen to maintain control throughout the flight, the spokeswoman said. The crew surveyed the area, landing at about 12:45 p.m. on a dirt road on the island, which is about 50 miles west of Okinawa.

The helicopter will remain on the island until a maintenance crew certifies it as safe to fly back to Kadena Air Base, said Lt. Col. Denis Delaney.

“We want to ensure that the helicopter is fully fixed before it flies again,” said Delaney on behalf of 18th Mission Support Group commander Col. Brent Baker, who is away this week.

The helicopter’s landing triggered a unanimous official protest from Kume Island Town Council members.

Kume Mayor Kyuzo Takazato and eight others from the island presented the protest statement to Delaney during an 11 a.m. meeting at Kadena Air Base on Thursday.

“Should one step go wrong, it could have resulted in a major, life-threatening accident. The emergency landing gave great anxiety to residents,” the resolution stated.

At an emergency session Wednesday night, the town council demanded a thorough investigation of the accident’s cause, as well as effective measures to prevent a recurrence.

After meeting with Delaney, the Kume delegation also was scheduled to meet and file protests with the Defense Facilities Administration Naha Bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Okinawa Liaison Office.